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FIFA Club World Cup
Real Madrid (2nd title)}} | number_of_teams = 7 | most_successful_club = Barcelona (3 titles) | current = 2016 | website = http://www.fifa.com/clubworldcup }} The FIFA Club World Cup, formerly known as the FIFA Club World Championship, is an international men's association football competition organised by the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The competition was first contested as the 2000 FIFA Club World Championship. It was not held between 2001 and 2004 due to a combination of factors, most importantly the collapse of FIFA's marketing partner International Sport and Leisure. Since 2005, the competition has been held every year, hosted so far by Brazil, Japan, the United Arab Emirates and Morocco. The first FIFA Club World Championship took place in Brazil in 2000. It ran in parallel with the Intercontinental Cup, a competition organised jointly by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and the Confederación Sudamericana de Fútbol (CONMEBOL) first disputed in 1960 by the winners of the European Champions' Cup and the Copa Libertadores. In 2005, after the Intercontinental Cup's last edition, that competition was merged with the Club World Cup's pilot edition and recalled "FIFA Club World Championship". In 2006 took its current name. The current format of the tournament involves seven teams competing for the title at venues within the host nation over a period of about two weeks; the winners of that year's AFC Champions League (Asia), CAF Champions League (Africa), CONCACAF Champions League (North America), Copa Libertadores (South America), OFC Champions League (Oceania) and UEFA Champions League (Europe), along with the host nation's national champions, participate in a straight knock-out tournament. The host nation's national champions dispute a play-off against the Oceania champions, from which the winner joins the champions of Asia, Africa and North America at the quarter-finals. The quarter-final winners go on to face the European and South American champions, who enter at the semi-final stage, for a place in the final. The current champions are Real Madrid, who defeated San Lorenzo 2–0 in the 2014 FIFA Club World Cup final, to win their first title in the competition. As of 2014, the FIFA Club World Cup has been won by nine different clubs. Barcelona (Spain) and Corinthians (Brazil) are the most successful teams, each having won two titles. Other winners include São Paulo and Internacional (Brazil), Milan and Internazionale (Italy), Manchester United (England), Bayern Munich (Germany), and Real Madrid (Spain). Brazil's Brasileirão has been the most successful national league with four titles, while Barcelona have the record for the most final appearances, with three. History Origin According to FIFA, the first attempt at creating a global club football tournament was in 1909, 21 years before the first FIFA World Cup. The Sir Thomas Lipton Trophy was held in Italy in 1909 and 1911, and contested by English, Italian, German and Swiss clubs. It was won by English amateur site West Auckland on both occasions. The idea that FIFA should organise international club competitions dates from the beginning of the 1950s. In 1951, FIFA President Jules Rimet was asked about FIFA's involvement in the Copa Rio, and stated that it was not under FIFA's jurisdiction since it was organised and sponsored by the Brazilian Football Confederation (Confederação Brasileira de Futebol; CBF). The competition was succeeded by another tournament, named Torneio Octogonal Rivadavia Corrêa Meyer, which was won by Vasco da Gama. This tournament had five Brazilian sides, and three foreign clubs, thus, losing half of its intercontinental aspect. In December 2007, FIFA turned down Palmeiras' request to recognise the tournament as a Club World Cup since the participants were limited to two continents. Although the competition was discontinued, it was held in high regard. FIFA board members Stanley Rous and Ottorino Barassi participated personally, albeit not in their capacity as FIFA members, in the organisation of the competition in 1951. Rous' role was attributed to the negotiations with European clubs, whereas Barassi helped form the framework of the competition. Commenting on Juventus' acceptance to participate in the tournament, the Italian press stated that "an Italian club could not be missing in such an important and worldwide-reaching event". Because of the difficulty the CBF found in bringing European clubs to the competition, the O Estado de S. Paulo newspaper suggested that there should be FIFA involvement in the programming of international club competitions saying that, "ideally, international tournaments, here or abroad, should be played at times set by FIFA". However, no response was received. The Pequeña Copa del Mundo was a tournament held in Venezuela between 1952 and 1957, with a two short revivals in 1963 and in 1965. It was usually played by eight participants, half from Europe and half from South America. After the late 1950s, the tournament rapidly lost status as the pedigree of its participants decreased. This competition, along with the creation of the European Cup and the Copa Libertadores, created the groundwork of the eventual Intercontinental Cup. Obstacles to the creation of the Club World Cup The Tournoi de Paris was a competition initially meant to bring together the top teams from Europe and South America to determine a de facto "best club in the world"; it was first disputed in 1957 when Vasco da Gama, the Rio de Janeiro and South American champions, beat host club Racing Paris in the semi-finals and beat two-time European champions Real Madrid 4–3 in the final at the Parc des Princes, the venue of Real Madrid's inaugural triumph in the European Cup. The victory was lauded in Europe and South America as it was Real Madrid's first international competition as European champions that they had not managed to win. Afterwards, Real Madrid secluded themselves from the competition and argued that it should be seen as a friendly tournament from then on. Real Madrid recovered from this defeat to win the first Intercontinental Cup. The Spaniards titled themselves world champions until FIFA stepped in and objected, citing that the competition did not include any other champions from the other confederations; FIFA stated that they can only claim to be intercontinental champions of a competition played between two organisations in which no one else had the opportunity to participate. FIFA stated that they would prohibit the 1961 edition to be played out unless the organisers regarded the competition as a friendly or a private match between two organisations. That same year the Intercontinental Cup was first played, FIFA authorised the International Soccer League to be contested with ratification from Sir Stanley Rous, who had become the FIFA President by that point. Although FIFA hoped to eventually transform the International Soccer League into a Club World Cup, the Intercontinental Cup had attracted the interest of other continents. The North and Central America confederation, CONCACAF, was created in 1961 to organise its intentions of allowing its clubs to participate in the Copa Libertadores and, by extension, the Intercontinental Cup. However, their entry into both competitions was rejected. Subsequently, the CONCACAF Champions' Cup began in 1962. FIFA was asked by CONMEBOL and UEFA in 1963 to make the Intercontinental Cup official; however, FIFA gave the same response as in 1960 and stated that they would only recognise the competition if the Asian and African champions were included. Due to the brutality of the Argentine and Uruguayan clubs at the Intercontinental Cup, FIFA was asked several times during the late 1960s to assess penalties and regulate the tournament. However, FIFA refused each request. The first of these requests was made in 1967, after a play-off match labelled The Battle of Montevideo. The Scottish Football Association, via President Willie Allan, wanted FIFA to recognise the competition in order to enforce football regulation; FIFA responded that it could not regulate a competition it did not organise. Allan's crusade also suffered after CONMEBOL, with the backing of its President Teofilo Salinas and the Argentine Football Association (Asociación del Fútbol Argentino; AFA), refused to allow FIFA to have any hand in the competition, stating: René Courte, FIFA's General Sub-Secretary, wrote an article shortly afterwards stating that FIFA viewed the competition as a "European-South American friendly match". This was confirmed by Sir Stanley Rous. With the Asian and North American club competitions in place, FIFA opened the idea of supervising the competition if it included those confederations; the proposal was met with a negative response from UEFA and CONMEBOL. The 1968 and 1969 Intercontinental Cups finished in similar fashion, with Manchester United manager Matt Busby insisting that "the Argentineans should be banned from all competitive football. FIFA should really step in." In 1973, French newspaper L'Equipe, who helped bring about the birth of the European Cup, volunteered to sponsor a Club World Cup contested by the champions of Europe, South America, North America and Africa, the only continental club tournaments in existence at the time; the competition was to potentially take place in Paris between September and October 1974, with an eventual final to be held at the Parc des Princes. The extreme negativity of the Europeans prevented this from happening. L'Equipe tried once again in 1975 to create a Club World Cup, in which participants would have been the four semi-finalists of the European Cup, both finalists of the Copa Libertadores, as well as the African and Asian champions. However, UEFA, via its president, Artemio Franchi, declined once again and the proposal failed. With the Intercontinental Cup in danger of being dissolved, West Nally, a British marketing company, was hired by UEFA and CONMEBOL to find a viable solution in 1980; Toyota Motor Corporation, via West Nally, took the competition under its wing and rebranded it as the Toyota Cup, a one-off match played in Japan. Toyota invested over US$700,000 in the 1980 edition to take place in Tokyo's National Olympic Stadium, with over US$200,000 awarded to each participant. The Toyota Cup, with its new format, was received with scepticism, as the sport was unfamiliar in the Far East. However, the financial incentive was welcomed, as European and South American clubs were suffering financial difficulties. To protect themselves against the possibility of European withdrawals, Toyota, UEFA and every European Cup participant signed annual contracts requiring the eventual winners of the European Cup to participate at the Intercontinental Cup, as a condition UEFA stipulated to the clubs' participation in the European Cup, or risk facing an international lawsuit from UEFA and Toyota. In 1983, The Football Association tried organising a Club World Cup to be played in 1985 and sponsored by West Nally, only to be denied by UEFA. The Interamerican Cup and the Afro-Asian Club Championship were tournaments created to allow those regions their own Club competitions, in large part due to the refusal of UEFA and CONMEBOL to allow CONCACAF, AFC and CAF clubs to compete in the Intercontinental Cup. Birth of the FIFA Club World Cup The framework of the 2000 FIFA Club World Championship was laid years in advance. According to Sepp Blatter, the idea of the tournament was presented to the Executive Committee in December 1993 in Las Vegas, United States by Silvio Berlusconi, AC Milan's president. Since every confederation had, by then, a stable, continental championship, FIFA felt it was prudent and relevant to have a Club World Championship tournament. Initially, there were nine candidates to host the competition: China, Brazil, Mexico, Paraguay, Saudi Arabia, Tahiti, Turkey, the United States, and Uruguay; of the nine, only Saudi Arabia, Mexico, Brazil and Uruguay confirmed their interest to FIFA. On 3 September 1997, FIFA selected Brazil to host the competition, which was initially scheduled to take place in 1999. Manchester United legend Bobby Charlton, a member of England's 1966 FIFA World Cup-winning team, stated that the Club World Championship provided "a fantastic chance of becoming the first genuine world champions." The competition gave away US$28 million in prize money and its TV rights, worth US$40 million, were sold to 15 broadcasters across five continents. The final draw of the first Club World Championship was done on 19 October 1999 at the Copacabana Palace Hotel in Rio de Janeiro. The inaugural competition was planned to be contested in 1999 by the continental club winners of 1998, the Intercontinental Cup winners and the host nation's national club champions, but it was postponed by one year. When it was rescheduled, the competition had eight new participants from the continental champions of 1999: Brazilian clubs Corinthians and Vasco da Gama, English side Manchester United, Mexican club Necaxa, Moroccan club Raja Casablanca, Spanish side Real Madrid, Saudi club Al-Nassr, and Australian club South Melbourne. The first goal of the competition was scored by Real Madrid's Nicolas Anelka against Al-Nassr; Real Madrid went on to win the match 3–1. The final was an all-Brazilian affair, as well as the only one which saw one side have home advantage. Vasco da Gama could not take advantage of its local support, being beaten by Corinthians 4–3 on penalties after a 0–0 draw in extra time. The second edition of the competition was planned for Spain in 2001, and was supposed to feature 12 clubs. The draw was performed at La Coruña on 6 March 2001. However, it was cancelled on 18 May, due to a combination of factors, most importantly the collapse of FIFA's marketing partner International Sport and Leisure. The participants of the canceled edition received US$750,000 each in compensation; the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) also received US$1 million from FIFA. Another attempt to stage the competition in 2003, in which 17 countries were looking to be the host nation, also failed to happen. FIFA agreed with UEFA, CONMEBOL and Toyota to merge the Intercontinental Cup and Club World Championship into one event. The final Intercontinental Cup was in 2004, with a relaunched Club World Championship held in Japan in December 2005. The 2005 version was shorter than the previous World Championship, reducing the problem of scheduling the tournament around the different club seasons across each continent. It contained just the six reigning continental champions, with the CONMEBOL and UEFA representatives receiving byes to the semi-finals. A new trophy was introduced replacing the Intercontinental trophy, the Toyota trophy and the trophy of 2000. The draw for the 2005 edition of the competition took place in Tokyo on 30 July 2005 at The Westin Tokyo. The 2005 edition saw São Paulo pushed to the limit by Saudi side Al-Ittihad to reach the final. In the final, one goal from Mineiro was enough to dispatch English club Liverpool; Mineiro became the first player to score in a Club World Cup final. Internacional defeated defending World and South American champions São Paulo in the 2006 Copa Libertadores finals in order to qualify for the 2006 tournament. At the semi-finals, Internacional beat Egyptian side Al-Ahly in order to meet Barcelona in the final. One late goal from Adriano Gabiru allowed the trophy to be kept in Brazil once again. It was in 2007 when Brazilian hegemony was finally broken: AC Milan disputed a close match against Japan's Urawa Red Diamonds, who were pushed by over 67,000 fans at Yokohama's International Stadium, and won 1–0 to reach the final. In the final, Milan defeated Boca Juniors 4–2, in a match that saw the first player sent off in a Club World Cup final: Milan's Kakha Kaladze from Georgia at the 77th minute. 11 minutes later, Boca Juniors' Pablo Ledesma would join Kaladze as he too was sent off. The following year, Manchester United would emulate Milan by beating their semi-final opponents, Japan's Gamba Osaka, 5–3. They saw off Ecuadorian club L.D.U. Quito 1–0 to become world champions in 2008. United Arab Emirates applied, with success, for the right to host the FIFA Club World Cup in 2009 and 2010. Ruing from their defeat three years earlier, Barcelona dethroned World and European champions Manchester United in the 2009 UEFA Champions League final to qualify for the 2009 edition of the Club World Cup. Barcelone beat Mexican club Atlante in the semi-finals 3–1 and met Estudiantes in the final. After a very close encounter which saw the need for extra-time, Lionel Messi scored from a header to snatch victory for Barcelona and complete an unprecedented sextuple. The 2010 edition saw the first non-European and non-South American side to reach the final: Congo's TP Mazembe defeated Brazil's Internacional 2–0 in the semi-final to face Internazionale, who beat South Korean club Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma 3–0 to reach that instance. Internazionale would go on to beat Mazembe with the same scoreline to complete their quintuple. The FIFA Club World Cup returned to Japan for the 2011 and 2012 edition. In 2011, Barcelona would once again show its class after winning their semi-final match 4–0 against Quatari club Al-Sadd. In the final, Barcelona would repeat its performance against Santos; this is, to date, the largest winning margin by any victor of the competition. Messi also became the first player to score in two different Club World Cup finals. The 2012 edition saw Europe's dominance come to an end as Corinthians, boasting over 30,000 travelling fans which was dubbed the "Invasão da Fiel", traveled to Japan to join Barcelona in being two-time winners of the competition. In the semi-finals, Al-Ahly managed to keep the scoreline close as Corinthians' Paolo Guerrero scored to send the Timão into their second final. Guerrero would once again come through for Corinthians as the Timão saw off English side Chelsea 1–0 in order to bring the trophy back to Brazil. Performances Corinthians and Barcelona hold the record for most victories, winning the competition twice each. Corinthians' inaugural victory remains as the best result from a host nation's national league champions. Teams from Brazil have won the tournament four times, the most for any one nation. Results by Confederation Africa's best representatives, to date, are TP Mazembe from the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Moroccan club Raja Casablanca. They remain the only non-European and non-South American sides to play in a Club World Cup final. Mexican clubs Necaxa and Monterrey, as well as Costa Rica's Saprissa, have each earned third place, North America's best results. The bronze medals by Japanese clubs Urawa Red Diamonds and Gamba Osaka, South Korean club Pohang Steelers and Qatari side Al Sadd remain as Asia's best results in the tournament. Auckland City has earned a third place and is the only OFC team to reach the semi-finals. :Table current through 31 December 2014. Format and rules As of 2012, most teams qualify to the FIFA Club World by winning their continental competitions, be it the Asian AFC Champions League, African CAF Champions League, North American CONCACAF Champions League, South American Copa Libertadores, Oceanian OFC Champions League or European UEFA Champions League. Aside from these, the host nation's national league champions qualify as well. The maiden edition of this competition was separated into two rounds. The eight participants were split into two groups of four teams. The winner of each group met in the final while the runners-up played for third place. The competition changed its format during the 2005 relaunch into a single-elimination tournament in which teams play each other in one-off matches, with extra time and penalty shoot-outs used to decide the winner if necessary. It featured six clubs competing over a two-week period.There were three stages: the quarter-final round, the semi-final round and the final. The quarter-final stage pitted the Oceanian Champions League winners, the African Champions League winners, the Asian Champions League winners and the North American Champions League winners against each other. Afterwards, the winners of those games would go on to the semi-finals to play the European Champions League winners and South America's Copa Libertadores winners. The victors of each semi-final would play go on to play in the final. With the introduction of the current format, which now has a fifth place match and a place for the host nation's national league champions, the format slightly changed. There are now four stages: the play-off round, the quarter-final round, the semi-final round and the final. The first stage pits the host nation's national league champions against the Oceanian Champions League winners. The winner of that stage would go on the quarter-finals to join the African Champions League winners, the AFC Champions League winners and the CONCACAF Champions League winners. The winners of those games would go on to the semi-finals to play the UEFA Champions League winners and South America's Copa Libertadores winners. The winners of each semi-final play each other in the final. Trophy The trophy used during the inaugural competition was called the FIFA Club World Championship Cup. The original laurel was created by Sawaya & Moroni, an Italian designer company that produces contemporary designs with cultural backgrounds and design concepts. The designing firm is based in Milan. The fully silver-coloured trophy had a weight of 4 kg (8.8 lb) and a height of 37.5 cm (14.8 in). Its base and widest points are 10 cm (3.9 in) long. The trophy had a base of two pedestals which had four rectangular pillars. Two of the four pillars had inscriptions on them; one contained the phrase, "FIFA Club World Championship" imprinted across. The other had the letters "FIFA" inscribed on it. On top, a football based on the 1998 FIFA World Cup ball, the Adidas Tricolore, can be seen. The production costs of the laurel was US$25,000. It was presented for the first time at Sheraton Hotels and Resorts in Rio de Janeiro on 4 January 2000. The tournament, in its present format, shares its name with the current trophy, also called the FIFA Club World Cup or simply la Copa, which is awarded to the FIFA Club World Cup winner. It was unveiled at Tokyo in 30 July 2005 during the draw of that year's edition of the competition. The laurel was designed in 2005 in Birmingham, United Kingdom, at the Thomas Fattorini jewellery shop by English designer Jane Powell, alongside her assistant Dawn Forbes, at the behest of FIFA. The gold-and-silver-coloured trophy, weighing 5.2 kg (11 lb), has a height of 50 cm (20 in). Its base and widest points are also measured at exactly 20 cm (7.9 in). It is made out of a combination of brass, copper, sterling silver, gilding metal, aluminium, chrome and rhodium. The trophy itself is gold plated. The design, according to FIFA, shows six staggered pillars, representing the six participating teams from the respective six confederations, and one separate metal structure referencing the winner of the competition. They hold up a globe in the shape of a football – a consistent feature amongst almost all of FIFA's event trophies. The graceful curves and inherent strength of the trophy evoke the balletic and athletic qualities necessary to successfully compete in the FIFA Club World Cup and the tension and movement describe the competitive energy amongst the participants. The golden pedestal has the phrase, "FIFA Club World Cup", imprinted at the bottom. Awards At the end of each Club World Cup, awards are presented to the players and teams for accomplishments other than their final team positions in the tournament. There are currently four awards: *The Golden Ball for the best player, determined by a vote of media members; the Silver Ball and the Bronze Ball are awarded to the players finishing second and third in the voting respectively; *The Golden Boot (sometimes called the Golden Shoe) for the top goalscorer; the Silver Boot and the Bronze Boot have been awarded to the second and third top goalscorers respectively; *The FIFA Fair Play Trophy for the team with the best record of fair play, according to the points system and criteria established by the FIFA Fair Play Committee. *The Most Valuable Player of the Final Match Trophy for the best performing player in the FIFA Club World Cup final. It was first awarded in 2005. The MVP of the Final Match is also rewarded with an automobile by Toyota, the presenting sponsor of the FIFA Club World Cup. The winners of the competition also receive the FIFA Club World Cup Champions Badge; it features an image of the trophy, which the reigning champion is entitled to display on its kit until the final of the next championship. The badge was first presented to A.C. Milan, the winners of the 2007 final. Each tournament's top three teams receives a set of gold, silver or bronze medals to distribute to their players. Prize money The 2000 FIFA Club World Championship was the inaugural edition of this competition; it provided US$28 million in prize money for its participants. The prize money received by the clubs participating was divided into fixed payments based on participation and results. Clubs finishing the tournament from fifth to eighth place received US$2.5 million. The club who would eventually finish in fourth place received US$3 million while the third-place team received US$4 million. The runner-up earned US$5 million while the eventual champions would gain US$6 million. The relaunch of the tournament in 2005 FIFA Club World Championship saw different amounts of prize money given and some changes in the criteria of receiving certain amounts. The total amount of prize money given dropped to US$16 million. The winners received US$5 million and the runners-up US$4 million, with $2.5 million for third place, US$2 million for fourth, US$1.5 million for fifth and US$1 million for sixth. For the 2007 FIFA Club World Cup, a play-off match between the OFC champions and the host-nation champions for entry into the quarter-final stage was introduced in order to increase home interest in the tournament. The reintroduction of the match for fifth place for the 2008 competition also prompted an increase in prize money by US$500,000 to a total of US$16.5 million. Sponsorship Like the FIFA World Cup, the FIFA Club World Cup is sponsored by a group of multinational corporations. Toyota Motor Corporation, a Japanese multinational automaker headquartered in Toyota, Aichi, Japan, is the presenting partner of the FIFA Club World Cup. Because Toyota is an automobile manufacturer and the main sponsor of the tournament, Hyundai-Kia's status as a FIFA partner is not active with respect to the Club World Cup. The five other FIFA partners – Adidas, Coca-Cola, Emirates, Sony, and Visa – retain full sponsorship rights, however. The inaugural competition had six event sponsors: Fujifilm, Hyundai, JVC, McDonald's, Budweiser, and MasterCard. Individual clubs may wear jerseys with advertising, even if such sponsors conflict with those of the FIFA Club World Cup. However, only one main sponsor is permitted per jersey in addition to that of the kit manufacturer. The tournament's current event sponsors and brands advertised (in italic) are: *Aderans *Adidas *Coca-Cola *''Coca-Cola Zero'' *Emirates *FIFA *''FIFA.com'' *''Football for Hope'' *JTB Corporation *Lawson *Komatsu Limited *Makita *Mynavi *Rigaos *Sony *Visa *Yomiuri Shimbun Records and statistics A total of 15 players have won the FIFA Club World Cup on two occasions: Cristiano Ronaldo, Dida, Fábio Santos, Danilo, Éric Abidal, Dani Alves, Sergio Busquets, Andrés Iniesta, Seydou Keita, Maxwell, Lionel Messi, Pedro Rodriguez, Gerard Piqué, Carles Puyol, Victor Valdes and Xavi. César Delgado holds the record of being the overall top goalscorer in FIFA Club World Cup history with five goals. Messi, Denilson and Mohamed Aboutrika share second place with four goals each. Denilson holds the record for the most goals scored in a single FIFA Club World Cup. All four of his goals were scored in the 2009 tournament. Puyol, Valdes, Xavi and Iniesta are players with most appearances in the competition, six matches each (winning two finals), all of them for Barcelona. Cafu stands as the only player to win the three most important national team competitions, pertaining to him, the top three South American club competitions, three European club competitions and the world club title, a record that stands today. He has won the FIFA World Cup with Brazil in 1994 and 2002, the Copa América in 1997 and 1999, the FIFA Confederations Cup in 1997, the Copa Libertadores in 1992 and 1993, the Supercopa Libertadores in 1993, the Recopa Sudamericana in 1993 and 1994, the UEFA Champions League in 2006-07, the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup in 1994-95, the UEFA Super Cup in 2007, and the FIFA Club World Cup in 2007. Barcelona claims the record with the most wins with five victories. Corinthians, Necaxa, Real Madrid and Kashiwa Reysol have the most draws, with each having a pair, while Al Ahly have the dubious record of the most losses with a total of seven. The ''culés '' also possesses the record for most goals scored on the competition, with 17 goals, while Al Ahly claims the record of most goals conceded with 15. Barcelona also has the best goal average in the history of the competition with a mark of 14+. Pep Guardiola is the only head coach to ever win three FIFA Club World Cups. All FIFA Club World Cup winning head coaches were natives of the country which is the home of the club they coached to victory except for Sir Alex Ferguson, Rafael Benítez, Pep Guardiola and Carlo Ancelotti. As of the end of the 2014 tournament, Al Ahly has played the most games with 12 in five different tournaments and Auckland City 12 games in six tournaments. Barcelona holds the record for scoring the most goals, playing six games in three different editions and scoring 17 goals. External links * Category:FIFA Club World Cup Club World Cup Category:World championships